25th Ann. of Panther 21 Acquittal: Program in NYC

From Shaba On', 22 April 1996

May 13, 1996 marks the 25th anniversary of the acquittal of the Panther
21, who in 1971 were the leadership of the eastern region of the Black
Panther Party (BPP).

The Panther 21 were arrested in a pre-dawn raid on April 2, 1969 and
charged with conspiracy to blow up the New York Botanical Gardens,
department stores, etc. On May 13, 1971, after the longest political
trial in New York's history, all 21 New York Panthers are acquitted of all
charges in just 45 minutes of jury deliberation.

The acquittal of the Panther 21 was a major political setback and
embarrassment for the Manhattan District Attorney's office and the New
York Police intelligence unit known as BOSSI which extensively infiltrated
and disrupted the BPP's community programs.

On May 14, 1996, the Committee to Celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the
Acquittal of the New York Panther 21 will host a program at the Schornburg
Center for Research in Black Culture, located at 515 Malcolm X Boulevard
(at 135th Street in Harlem) which will run from 5:30 PM. to 9:30 PM-

The case of the Panther 21 serves as a classic example of police
infiltration and political repression which created a new generation of
political prisoners in the United States. For many membership in the Black
Panther Party proved to be a serious liability that resulted in
assassinations, frame-ups, long-term incarceration. Unlike Mark Rudd,
Jerry Rubin and other white "radicals" who were able to re-integrate into
the mainstream, the lives of former Black Panther Party leaders were, more
often than not, irrevocably shattered. Their lives will bear the scars of
the brutal and violent repression they endured forever. Many believe that
the indictment of the Panther 21 was a racist and politically motivated
frame-up by the government, through its Counter-Intelligence Program, to
destroy the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation movement.

The Black Panther Party was a grassroots organization of young Black men
and women dedicated to the empowerment of Black people. While the Black
Panthers advocated self-defense they never supported unprovoked, random,
indiscriminate violence - The right to self defense was but one of the ten
points of its political platform. Contrary to the racist image painted by
the mainstream media, the BPP was not a bunch of gun-toting thugs,
blood-thirsty fanatics.

Leaders of the Black Panther Party were targeted by the COINTELPRO for
what the FBI termed "neutralization" (a code word for assassinations,
frame-ups, imprisonments and public vilification) in early 1969. Federal
and local law enforcement agencies successfully assassinated many Black
Panthers (Fred Hampton, Mark Clark, Zayd Shakur) or successfully imprison
them for life (Geronimo ji jaga pratt. Mumia Abu-Jamal, Marshall Eddie
Conway, etc.) by utilizing extra-legal means (e.g., suborning of perjury,
harassing and intimidating witnesses, withholding of exculpatory evidence,
etc.)

In the late 1960s, as the US. "civil rights" movement grew and became more
militant in its opposition to racist and and-poor domestic and foreign
policies, the FBI intensified its domestic surveillance and
counter-insurgency programs aimed at the Black community. The BPP became
the primary target of the FBI's Counter Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO)
The 1974 findings of the Church Committee (a Senate Committee on
Government Operations) revealed that almost 90% of the FBI's
counterintelligence activities that were aimed at the Black community
targeted the BPP. The US government's Counter-Intelligence Program
(COINTELPRO) effectively destroyed radical Black political dissent in the
US by murdering, framing, incarcerating its leaders or forcing them into
exile.

The United States denies the existence of political prisoners within its
borders - Instead, the US law enforcement agencies classifies these former
political activists that it targeted as mere criminals. Within the US,
the criminal justice system (law enforcement, the courts, jails and
prisons) is used to repress political activists- Illegal methods were used
to frame political prisoners- A review of these cases reveal gross
patterns of prosecutorial misconduct which includes: the fabrication or
concealment of evidence by the government during trial. Statistics prove
that political prisoners consistently receive longer prison terms than do
right-wing fanatics or non-political offenders. They are also forced to
endure the harshest conditions of confinement The majority of political
prisoners in the US today are Black and former members of the Black
Panther Party.

COME CELEBRATE THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ACQUITAL OF THE NY PANTHER 21.

We welcome you support and as that you attend a Celebration of the 25th.
Anniversary of the Panther 21 Acquittal on Tuesday May 14, 1996 at The
Schomburg Ccuter for Research in Black Culture 515 Malcolm X Blvd- (at
135th Street) New York, NY 10037